This is the 11th story in our new series on senior food insecurity. It’s a topic that is especially important in the greater Memphis area, which has the third-highest senior food insecurity rates in the country.
Meals on Wheels America is running a national awareness campaign called
End the Wait to increase the number of volunteers delivering meals to clients in need. Locally, maintained by the Aging Commission of the Mid-South, the waiting list is currently around 3,000.
“We continue to see a high level of unmet need for food for people who are aging in our area,” says Executive Director of Aging Commission of the Mid-South Kim Daugherty. “Supporting senior food programs is important for local communities and presents an opportunity for advocacy with public officials.”
For more on the current need and all that’s being done to raise awareness High Ground News interviewed Meals for America Vice President and Chief of Staff Jenny Young.
HGN: What is the current waiting list for meal service in the Midsouth? Nationally?
Jenny: Unfortunately, we don’t have regional or national waiting list numbers as each community-based provider operates independently and these numbers can fluctuate on a daily basis. We do know, however, that 1 in 3 local Meals on Wheels providers has recently reported having a waitlist and that the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association Meals on Wheels program’s waitlist of more than 3,000 seniors is one of the longest reported waitlists in the country.
You can see how Tennessee’s senior food insecurity compares to other states in
this most recent Feeding America report. You can see that states in the region have some of the highest rates of senior food insecurity in the country – meaning there is a lot of unmet need throughout the region and there’s a lot that Meals on Wheels providers could do with more resources.
Growing senior food insecurity and mounting waitlists is just one of the reasons why Meals on Wheels America recently launched its
new plan to End the WaitTM, which aims to change how our organization, local providers, and the country as a whole work together to champion senior health and wellbeing.
HGN: Can you tell me about the process and goals of the End the Wait Campaign? Also, is it gaining traction?
Jenny: The overarching goal of Meals on Wheel America’s plan to End the Wait
TM is to work alongside the Meals on Wheels network to eliminate waitlists and ensure every senior who needs Meals on Wheels gets it. To reach those in the greatest need, Meals on Wheels America is focused on serving seniors in rural communities, communities of color, and those with multiple chronic conditions.
The plan is to extend local providers’ ability to deliver tailored nutrition and enhanced social connection services that continue to differentiate Meals on Wheels and deliver meaningful impact. This new plan centers the needs of the Meals on Wheels network and the seniors it serves as Meals on Wheels America leverages national partnerships, programming, and influence to, ultimately, End the Wait
TM.
To reach our goals, Meals on Wheels America has been scaling national programming to build local capacity and drive locally led solutions. We are building local organization capacity to serve more older adults through infrastructure investments, volunteer recruitment and retention, and staff training, which helps to meet the growing demand.
We have also been working on growing partnerships to scale services for communities with the greatest need. We will continue to expand and foster collaborative efforts to serve previously unserved or underserved seniors, ensuring equitable access to Meals on Wheels services for all older adults in need, and leverage our influence to raise awareness and drive change across systems, practices, and policies. We have and will continue to advocate on Capitol Hill and offer policy solutions that increase Meals on Wheels funding and impact.
The End the Wait
TM platform is absolutely gaining traction! Notably, we’ve surpassed our goal of 20,000 signatures on the End the Wait™ pledge – with 33,000 signatures and counting!
We’ve been able to build momentum so that awareness of the issues of senior hunger and isolation is reaching a broader audience. With this said, the growing number of seniors facing food insecurity, and loneliness, and isolation, puts America’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality into sharp focus, which is why we have more work to do.
Twelve million seniors worry about having enough food and 31% feel lonely, a declared national epidemic, negatively impacting their health and well-being. Local Meals on Wheels providers are struggling to address the sheer volume of need without more resources, leaving some seniors waiting months, even years, for nutritious meals and moments of connection.
With that said, we are continuing to push forward in bringing awareness to this issue, which will only get worse if action isn’t taken for America’s seniors.
HGN: What are the main barriers in finding volunteers and funding at this time?
Jenny: For more than 50 years, Meals on Wheels has been the most effective solution to senior hunger and isolation. Despite that fact, we’re waiting for adequate government funding, donations, and volunteers.
Federal funding, primarily through the Older Americans Act (OAA), has not kept pace with either the growing senior population or rapidly rising costs.
The OAA only covers 37% of what it takes to serve more than 2 million seniors annually. The rest is covered by private and local sources.
The reality is, federal funding for senior nutrition programs is heading in the wrong direction. In fact, from FY23 to FY24, The Older Americans Act Nutrition Program faced an $8 million cut. This was a step backward at a time when demand for senior nutrition services has never been higher.
Gridlock and divisiveness in Washington have led to much uncertainty when it comes to federal funding for Meals on Wheels, but we remain committed to working with the new Administration and Congress to advance policies that will expand our reach and ensure that no senior in America is left hungry or isolated.
Speaking of private dollars, only 1% of philanthropic donations in the U.S. go toward senior causes. And giving overall continues to decline –
down 2% in 2023.
And volunteerism is at its lowest in nearly two decades. For Meals on Wheels specifically, many programs haven’t been able to recruit and retain the volunteers lost during the COVID years as the majority of the retirement-age workforce opted to stay home to avoid risk for themselves and others. Now providers are attempting to fill gaps with corporate volunteer programs, younger demographics, and more!
Local Meals on Wheels organizations serve nearly every community across the country, and they’re eager to do even more, but they desperately need more resources to do so. Unfortunately, while we have a powerful, impactful network, the issues we address are underfunded and ignored.